Improved harness-buckle



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@WM im@ -N, PETERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAFNER, WASHING UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL M. NIXON, OF DANVILLE, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVED HARNESSBUCKLE.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 42,787, dated May 17, 1564,

. To all whom it may concern and Useful HarnessBuckle; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart oftnis specification, and to the letters of reference Inarked thereon.

In the drawings, figure I is a plan view of the buckle with portion ot the haine-tug and trace attached. Fig. II is a section of Fig. I through the red line x x,- Figs. IlI and IV, views of the tongue of the buckle.

In all ot' these figures the same letter is used to designate the same parts.

To enable others skilled in the art lo make and use my invention, I give the following description ot' its construction and operation.

A A represents the frame ot' the buckle B B, the tongue; B B', the point ol'B B turned to enter the holes IL l1. in the trace e e D, the cross-bar near the center, and passing from one side of the frame to the other; a a, the front bar; a a', the back ba'r; b, the loop for breeching; c c, loops for pad and belly-band; d d, hame-tug; e e, trace; g g, groove in end of tongue B and fitting on crossbar D; h h, holes for the reception of' the point B of the tongue.

It will be seen that I make a certain portion of the frame of my buckle-say, from q to q, Fig. II-plain or ilat, and curve up the two ends. The object ot` this is to give an even surface to press upon the side of the animal. This is an object of much importancein heavy draft, where the pad and belly-band are attached to the buckle by loops, such as c c. The curved ends with the end bars, a and a', form loops for receiving the end of the trace. The groove g of the tongue B is placed upon the cross bar D, and thus held by the end of the hame tug, which is passed around and firmly secured upon them both by stitching, as is usually done, a hole having been previously made therein for the passage of the point B through the upper or outer fold of the hame-tug. By this arrangement the tongue is as firmly held upon the cross-bar, as if it entirely surrounded it, and thepointB, coming in contact with the end bar, a, is tlrmly braced or stayed byi t, thereby preventing the possibility of throwing the groove out of place. If the point B were, as in some harness-buckles, within the bar a, having then no support but its own strength, it would be not only much more liable to be broken off when great strain should be put upon the trace, but also to be drawn back, and thus throw the groove g from its place upon the cross-bar; and, as this grooved end ot' the tongue is as wide as the bucklethat is, extends from side to side-it is pressed upon by the entire Width ot' the trace, which thus becomes an additional means of holding it in place. In the construction of my buckle I put the cross-bar D about halt' an inch for ward ot' the center of the frame in buckles of the size shown in the drawings and a greater or less distance in proportion to the size ot' the buckle. By this construction I get a stronger leveragefor holding the end bar, a, against the point Bf, for when the trace is drawn upon strongly it rises up under the end bar, a, and the more the draft, the more this end will tend to raise up and throw the anterior bar a against the point B.

Ordinary leather loops are applied (not shown in the drawings) for holding the free end of the trace in its place upon the haine-tug.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

rIhe frame A, with its curved end and bars ay c and cross-bar D, in combination with the tongue B, with its grooved end g and point B', constructed and operating as described.

DANIEL M. NIXON.

Witnesses:

LoUIs BAKER, H. KING. 

